Letters From Hermana McKenna : Prayers Are Answered!

September 8, 2014

Dear Familia,

My oh my! It sounds like quite the eventful week in the good old USA! I hope everything is ok with my little baby brother, and that my home slice Jack-Attack will eventually get his drivers license...if it makes you feel any better Jack I had to take the test 3 times before I passed. Don't despair!

That's so exciting that you get to be part of such a patriotic event! Tell Dr. Forman I say hola! Hopefully Carr-man doesn't trip while carrying the flag ;) I have you all in my prayers!

Shout Out to Bompa & Nana for their lovely missionary badges! And shout out to Mema for her lesson on prayer! I don't know how I got so lucky to be blessed with such great examples for Grandparents! I hope you had a SPLENDID grandparents day!

This week was really good! Ha the 1st couple of days it rained SOOO much! By the 3rd day my boots were soaked all the way through! I remember just kneeling by my bed praying that there would be sun tomorrow so I could put my boots outside and they could dry. (Our apartment doesn't have air-conditioning or heating, so nothing every gets dry unless it's outside). The next morning I woke up and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! I know it sounds silly, but in that moment I could have cried I was so thankful! Ha, truth be told I actually did cry. These past couple of days the weather has been beautiful and sunny, I know God hears and answers our prayers, no matter how small!

Right now Hermana Dalton and I are teaching 2 older men that are REALLY Catholic...not just baptized Catholic. It's a challenge no doubt. One of them likes to fight with us about EVERYTHING! The next day after a really rough lesson with Raul (the fighter) I was reading in the Book of Mormon Dad gave me and I read the chapters about Ammon and Aaron and how the difference of when they were successful and when they were rejected was their attitude towards the people. Ammon went in with the attitude of service. Aaron went in and started to contend about doctrine. Contention/fighting gets us nowhere. We have to let them know how much we care and want to help them. The following day Hermana Dalton and I went back to Raul's house with a totally different attitude. After we taught him I said the closing prayer...he always asks me to say the closing prayer. Ha it's probably because I hardly say anything in the lessons, all I know how to do is pray! But anyway, I said the closing prayer and asked God to bless Raul's heart with a desire to know the truth. I don`t know how much of my Spanish he understood, but after the prayer it looked like he was going to cry. He said that he knew we were sent from God because we move him to do things, and he said that he knew God could hear our prayers. He said that week he would pray, to talk to God. WHAT?!?!?! He`s never been that receptive before! He's never even believed in prayer before! I know God changes hearts.

I'm so grateful for this chance to teach the people of Chile more about the amazing gospel of Jesus Christ, and to learn so much in the process. This has, by far, been the most humbling experience of my life!

I love you all and am so grateful for your supportive letters, pictures, and packages! Because of how the system works in the mission field we only get packages once a month at Zone Conference. I should get the package Mom sent this Wednesday, and I'll get the others in October.

XOXO-Hermana McKenna

View from our balcony! I love this place!